After ten years of yoga practice in Taiwan, Erin Tseng still felt stuck. For some reason, she could not breathe as deeply as some of the postures required. She was struggling. It was only when she learned how to “let go” in practice that she was able to relax and come closer to her own spontaneity. Now she is training to become an Acem instructor in meditative yoga.
When a book is published in Norwegian, a language spoken by only five million people, it is usually expected to stay well within the borders of this small Scandinavian country. However, Are Holen and Torbjørn Hobbel’s book Meditative Yoga: Integrating Body, Breath and Mind has beaten the expectations.
Meditative yoga is very different from the hurried, sweaty, gym-like yoga of many schools around the world. It brings the mind to silence and focuses on slow movement yoga with abdominal breathing for maximum relaxation. Says founder of Acem School of Yoga, Dr. Are Holen, in a recent interview.